


It's Over Now

by AshsHorrorShow



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: AU - Tawnypelt Kills Sleekwhisker, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Family, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hunters & Hunting, Introspection, Murder, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-07
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-10-24 01:42:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17695214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshsHorrorShow/pseuds/AshsHorrorShow
Summary: Tawnypelt kept her body pressed low to the ground, her footsteps careful and silent. Her ears swiveled around, listening for any stray rustle or sound. She was on the hunt. But not for mice or voles. She was tracking down something much bigger than those.She was hunting down a cat.





	It's Over Now

Tawnypelt kept her body pressed low to the ground, her footsteps careful and silent. Her ears swiveled around, listening for any stray rustle or sound. She was on the hunt. Not for mice or voles though. She was tracking down something much bigger than those. 

She was hunting down a cat. 

Her heart beat faster at the thought. She couldn’t believe she was doing this. She could turn around now, go back to camp, and forget this ever happened. But despite every sensible part of her telling her she should do exactly that, her paws kept moving forward. 

She mentally cursed the wretched cat who she was tracking. She could’ve moved on. She may of never forgiven the fox-hearted coward, but she could’ve moved on with her life, satisfied with the thought of never seeing that murderer again.

Maybe she was a fool for ever thinking that would be the case. She’d been alive long enough to know that evil, ambitious, power-hungry cats were never satisfied. They never knew when to quit. They just wanted to take and take until they finally were put to a stop for good. 

And Sleekwhisker was no different. 

Tawnypelt felt her eyes narrow. Sleekwhisker’s scent was becoming fresher and stronger. She was getting close. She flexed her claws in and out and took a deep breath. This was it. She was approaching the point of now or never. Only one of them would be getting out of this alive.

Tawnypelt wished she could confidently say it would be her, but she wasn’t quite so sure. She wasn’t as young as she used to be, and Sleekwhisker’s fighting abilities were nothing to sneeze at. The she-cat had a body count for a reason. Tawnypelt swallowed at the thought. 

But nonetheless, she kept moving forward.

Tawnypelt didn’t think she asked for much. Despite being the daughter of one of the most ambitious cats ever, she didn’t desire much. She didn’t need to be the most leader or deputy or even best warrior. Those were nice positions, but she didn’t need such titles to feel happy. Really, all she truly desired was stability. 

Back in ThunderClan, she had never felt happy or wanted. Were there good aspects to ThunderClan? Of course there were. She still missed her mother, Goldenflower, to this very day. She had always been on Bramblestar and Tawnypelt’s side, their biggest defender. She wished she could’ve been there when Goldenflower had passed away, because her gratefulness towards her mother never left her. She had been overjoyed to see Dawnpelt had a similar pattern as Goldenflower when she had been born. 

She also had her brother, who she still deeply cared about. They were able to find companionship with one another no matter what. Tawnypelt had no doubt if Bramblestar had came to live in ShadowClan with her, she and him would have still been the best of friends. 

Then there were the casual other friendly cats. Ferncloud and Brindleface, for example, had never treated her with disdain or distrust, but to be fair, she didn’t think either of those two she-cats were capable of having hateful feelings. 

But even despite all of these nice cats in her life, it didn’t justify how the rest of ThunderClan had treated her. Even now, it made her skin crawl. The constant hateful looks. The jeering whispers. The cruel names. The accusations. The sniveling disdain so many of her so-called Clanmates showed her. 

Tawnypelt was sure she could’ve single handedly saved the entire Clan from a pack of foxes and they would still think she was trying to hide her inner wickedness. It was maddening, really, and depressing, to know that every effort she made would just be disregarded by her Clanmates. And why should they act any different? Their own leader didn’t promote them to think otherwise. 

They would never see her as Tawnypaw, apprentice of ThunderClan. They would only see her as Tawnypaw, daughter of Tigerstar. The daughter of a murderer, destined to become just like him. 

And that was no way to live her life. 

She had received criticism for her decision to flee to ShadowClan, and to be fair, she could see where the cats who criticized her came from. If she didn’t want to be associated with Tigerstar… why flee to the Clan her traitorous father ruled? It was a fair point. 

But she never regretted her decision. She was driven by the need of acceptance. She couldn’t trust her Clanmates to watch her back. Supposedly, things had gotten better for Bramblestar, and she was glad for that, but she shouldn’t of had to deal with that in the first place. If all she would be seen as by other cats was Tigerstar’s daughter, then why not just join a Clan who had already aligned with Tigerstar? Who would not judge her for that?

Were things always easy in ShadowClan? No. Especially not at first. There had been those who had been disdainful at her for being originally a ThunderClan cat. Blackstar, especially, seemed to have a hard time letting this go. However, this was all made easier by the fact that since her father was ruling, they didn’t dare speak out against her way too much. 

This gave her enough time to make connections. To make friends, to meet nice cats all around. And slowly but surely… ShadowClan began to feel more and more like a home. Suddenly, she was feeling loved and wanted and not constantly needing to prove herself to anybody.

Even Blackstar, as time passed, began to soften down on her. 

During that time, she had managed to make a life for herself. She was a successful warrior, she had a wonderful mate in Rowanstar, they had three beautiful kits, and one of those kits even went on to have kits of her own. Everything was nice… everything was balanced. 

She had reached a balance. 

But then… things had all went wrong. Completely and utterly wrong. 

Blackstar and her hadn’t always gotten along, but even Tawnypelt had to admit, that the tom was a good leader, especially in regards to his Clanmates. He was authoritarian and no nonsense. When cats were acting up, he quickly put a stop to their foolhardiness. He could be fair when he needed to be, but he made it clear that he was leader and that his words were to be respected. 

After Russetfur had died in battle, Tawnypelt had always thought that Blackstar had chosen Rowanstar to be his deputy, in the hopes of them balancing each other out, Rowanstar being more diplomatic and sympathetic. And to be fair, the two of them had made a decent team together for a long time. 

But things had began to fall apart when Blackstar drowned during the floods and Rowanstar had to take charge. A void had come in the Clan with Blackstar’s passing. Tawnypelt didn’t know what to blame it on, really. Maybe it was the fact that there had been an explosion of young cats in the Clan, who saw an opportunity to act more rowdy than usual. Maybe it was all the stress of Littlecloud dying, the fevers, the apprentices, and many other factors that had lead to it… but the Clan was falling to shambles. 

Apprentices were acting as if they knew better than senior warriors. Elders were being treated with disdain and like burdens. When Littlecloud was dying, hardly any cat had helped him out. Cats were outspoken against Rowanstar. 

And as much as Tawnypelt had loved her mate, he simply hadn’t been able to handle all these stresses effectively. He wasn’t used to resistance, wasn’t used to so many bad things falling upon them at once. His leadership was weak. 

And unfortunately, weakness was exactly what Darktail and his group of rogues were looking for. 

When the rest of the Clan had sided against Rowanstar, Tawnypelt had been horrified. She couldn’t believe her ears. How could this have happened? ShadowClan had been through rough patches in history, but even during hardship, it had managed to remain a Clan. But now, cats were rejecting the Clan she called home… the Clanmates she had come to trust. 

And helping lead that rebellion was Sleekwhisker. 

Tawnypelt could make excuses for a lot of the other cats who joined the Kin. Not all of them had selfish reasons. Cats such as Puddleshine, who simply wanted to keep his Clanmates safe, and Dawnpelt, who had wanted to be with her kits. Tawnypelt could understand such motivations, even if she didn’t necessarily agree with their joining. She could even make excuses for some of the younger cats who joined, linking it back to them being young, foolish, and angry at the position their Clan had been in, drawn in by Darktail and his lies.

But Sleekwhisker was a cat she could hardly forgive or sympathize with. 

She remembered when Sleekwhisker’s father, Crowfrost, had died, the absolute apathy and boredom that had been on Sleekwhisker’s features during the whole funeral. She hadn’t even joined her siblings in comforting Dawnpelt in her grief. She had just sat there, looking like she’d rather be doing anything else. She had even mocked Dawnpelt at one point. 

Tawnypelt had remembered herself justifying it to herself as Sleekwhisker just coping with grief in a different way. That she was lashing out immaturely. Sleekwhisker had never exactly been an emotionally vocal or honest cat, even when she had been a tiny kit, so she could lie to herself then. 

She remembered the day Darktail had defeated Rowanstar. She remembered hearing Sleekwhisker’s cheers and jeers, against her own grandfather. The absolute look of relish that had crossed the young cat’s features, as if she wanted to see Rowanstar’s throat torn out right there and then. 

But to be fair, she was not the only cat who was acting like that, and once again, maybe if it had only been that, then Tawnypelt could’ve excused it as a young cat who had been brainwashed by the ideology of the rogues.

But when it really hit her. When it hit her that Sleekwhisker was different then most of her Clanmates. It was when Dawnpelt had emotionally informed her and Rowanstar that she’d be staying in the Kin with her kits. She remembered Sleekwhisker weaving her body against Dawnpelt’s, in a fake act of support, but Tawnypelt hadn’t missed the wicked smirk that the she-cat had shot her way. It was a look that said, “You lost.” It was a look that showed nothing but hatred and malice. A look of gleeful of joy at what was occuring. 

It was the kind of look she remembered seeing in her father’s eyes. 

That was when she knew that Sleekwhisker was evil. Truly evil. 

Her thoughts were only confirmed all the more when she heard the horror stories from her Clanmates of what life in the Kin was like. About how Sleekwhisker had helped out without any qualms. About how Sleekwhisker helped make cats “disappear” sometimes with Darktail. About how Dawnpelt had last been seen talking to Sleekwhisker.

And as she heard these stories, her anger had grown more and more. 

She had never had full proof that Sleekwhisker had killed Dawnpelt. They hadn’t even been able to find Dawnpelt’s body. But something in Tawnypelt told her it was the case. Sleekwhisker knew her mother’s weakness. It was her family. It always had been… Sleekwhisker was the one who could’ve lulled her mother into a false sense of security. Could’ve lead her to her death. 

As far as Tawnypelt was concerned, even if Sleekwhisker hadn’t slain Dawnpelt with her own claws, she had still chosen to ally herself with the cat who killed her own mother. She was no better than him. 

During her temporary stay in SkyClan, she had remembered when Sleekwhisker had came slinking in and giving a sob story about how she had been manipulated and fooled by Darktail, Tawnypelt had wanted to tear into her right then. She hadn’t believed her for a second. 

But it wasn’t her position to decide that. SkyClan wasn’t her home… she had no power here. Leafstar was the one who was leading things and she had allowed Sleekwhisker in, forcing Tawnypelt to just hope to every cat up in StarClan that even evil cats could have a change of heart. 

But instead, she had ended up kidnapped and her mate had ended up dead… all while Sleekwhisker got to run away gloating about it. 

Tawnypelt felt her claws sink in. Everything she had wanted and worked for… a Clan, a mate, a family… Sleekwhisker had helped destroy all of that. She had rocked Tawnypelt’s peace… had crushed it. The only things she had managed not to take from her was her last remaining kit, Tigerstar, and her grandson, Strikestone. 

She was never going to be whole again… not fully. She had left her life in tatters, and all Tawnypelt could do was pick up the pieces. She had to make do with what she had. 

So when a patrol had reported smelling Sleekwhisker’s scent near the border a day ago, Tawnypelt had panicked. Her Clanmates had been fine enough to brush it off. They said that Sleekwhisker wouldn’t attack. That she didn’t have enough cats to take on ShadowClan. And maybe they were right.

But they had said the same thing about Tigerstar. They had said the same thing about Darktail. Who was to say that Sleekwhisker wouldn’t come back with her own band of rogues to try and finish her job? What if she targeted Tigerstar? Or Strikestone? What if she tried to destroy what little remained of her Clan?

Tawnypelt couldn’t have that. She needed to preserve what she had. She couldn’t lose another cat in her life. She didn't want to lose her last kit. Her last loyal grandchild. She had to put an end to this now.

She had to protect what little security she had. 

Which lead her to where she was now. 

All of a sudden, she caught sight of a yellow shape moving towards a stream. Pausing, she watched as Sleekwhisker lapped at the water. Sniffing the air and looking around, she couldn’t spot any other cat though Tawnypelt had a feeling Raven wasn’t too far away. Perhaps the black she-cat was out hunting? She would have to be fast. 

Tawnypelt watched Sleekwhisker for a moment, trying to decide when the right moment was to strike. She swallowed at the sight of her. 

It was so hard to look at Sleekwhisker fully. She resembled Dawnpelt so much, with her sleek yellow fur and pretty green eyes and prim way of walking. It was like a miniature version of her daughter really. But no… this was the murderer of her daughter. She felt anger build up in her throat. 

It was weird to feel so much hatred towards Sleekwhisker. She used to be fond of her. She remembered when Sleekwhisker was a shy and quiet kit… a tiny little scrap who’d been too scared to leave then den or roughhouse with her brothers. Tawnypelt had immediately warmed up to the she-kit, gently encouraging her to come outside and with the help of Sleekwhisker’s denmate, Needletail, whose confidence was infectious, they eventually got her to leave the den and build up her confidence. 

She remembered Sleekwhisker excitedly showing her giant leaves she had managed to find and remembered batting a pinecone back and forth with her. She remembered the first time she had gotten Sleekwhisker to giggle, and how happy and pleased it had made her. Her heart had been swelled up with love.

And even now, that image of that little kit was in her mind, making her emotions churn with conflict. 

But maybe that was normal. She had loved what Sleekwhisker had used to be. She loved a past version. But now Sleekwhisker was a cruel creature, and she had to be stopped. For good. 

Finally, when Sleekwhisker seemed thoroughly distracted, she launched out and moved as quickly as possible, leaping on top of Sleekwhisker’s back with a hiss. Sleekwhisker immediately jerked and let out a yowl of surprise as she fell into the water, immediately trying to scramble to her feet. Tawnypelt sunk her claws into the she-cat’s sides, trying to grapple her to the ground. 

Unfortunately, Sleekwhisker was slippier than she looked and she managed to wriggle around and began kicking at Tawnypelt’s stomach with her back legs, using one of her front paws to scratch at Tawnypelt’s face. Tawnypelt winced at the pain and let out a hiss. Grabbing Sleekwhisker’s paw in her teeth, she bit as hard as she could, blood flowing in her mouth. Sleekwhisker jerked back with a cry.

The two she-cats tussled in the water for a while, the two of them splashing cold water all over each other. Tawnypelt was getting torn to pieces by Sleekwhisker’s claws, but Tawnypelt refused to let the she-cat out of her pin, knowing if she lost Sleekwhisker now, she’d lose this match. Sleekwhisker was powerful and young. This was the only advantage she had.

If Raven came running back, then it would all be over for her. 

The two of them let out screeches, fur and blood flying everywhere. But then finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Sleekwhisker slumped over, panting… her green eyes glimmering with hatred. 

Letting out a cruel smirk, she meowed, “Hello Tawnypelt. Pleasant to see you again.”

Tawnypelt sunk her claws deeper into Sleekwhisker’s skin, causing the yellow she-cat to wince and let out a hiss. Sleekwhisker spit at her, “Don’t waste time. If you’re going to kill me, kill me.”

“Didn’t know you were so eager to die,” Tawnypelt commented coolly, her breath also coming out in pants. A trickle of blood dripped from her face and near her eye, causing her to wince. She didn’t even want to imagine what she looked like. “Thought a rat like you would be begging for mercy.”

“I’d rather die than beg to a pathetic Clan cat like yourself,” Sleekwhisker hissed. 

“I guess you’d get to meet Darktail that way,” Tawnypelt said coldly. This caused Sleekwhisker to practically spit, the yellow she-cat giving another wriggle, but she couldn’t break free.

And as much as Tawnypelt hated it, she couldn’t help but feel a wriggle of pity in her heart. See that tiny little kit who had been so shy.

“How did you let yourself go far down, Sleekwhisker?” Tawnypelt asked in a whisper. 

Sleekwhisker let out a laugh and said, “Down? I only went up! I learned how to be strong! I saw the weakness of the Clans. We rose up against it! We destroyed ShadowClan!”

“No,” Tawnypelt said, “You didn’t. Look at you. You’re a rogue who has been banished to the middle of nowhere, your group is disbanded, you have no one loyal to you, and ShadowClan is still alive and thriving. You have nothing, Sleekwhisker. You’ve lost.”

Sleekwhisker’s eyes were full of rage, but she just said, “This is never going to be over. The rogues will find a new leader. The Clan’s foundations are weak-”

Tawnypelt gave up. She knew she would never change Sleekwhisker’s mind. She was too far gone. 

Sleekwhisker looked at her and said, “You going to pin me here until I die of starvation or are you too weak to actually do anything?”  
Tawnypelt just looked down and said, “Before I finish, let me ask one last question.” 

Sleekwhisker lashed her tail and said nothing, so Tawnypelt continued, “Did you kill Dawnpelt?”

Sleekwhisker blinked before grinning and saying, “Yes. I did.”

Tawnypelt couldn’t believe what she heard. Her blood ran cold. She had suspected it, of course. She had known it. But she still wasn’t prepared for the words. For the stab they put in her heart. Trying to keep herself somewhat calm, she said, “How? … Why?”

Sleekwhisker shrugged and said, “Cause she was weak and trying to run away. I should’ve known for a fact she wouldn’t be strong enough to stay in the Kin. That cat thought more with her heart then her brains. We did the forest a favor getting rid of her.” 

Tawnypelt felt anger, saying through bared teeth, “She was your mother. She loved you.”

“Oh I know,” Sleekwhisker purred, her grin becoming almost manic. “It made it all the more satisfying to see the look of betrayal that flashed through her eyes when one of the precious kits she left to join the Kin being the one to finish her off. She actually thought I was going to show her mercy. Fah!”

Tawnypelt couldn’t listen to this anymore. Growling low in her throat, she hissed, “Stop.”

“I remember slashing my claws across her throat. Remembered pushing her head underneath the water to make sure she was dead. Remember seeing her last twitches and-”

Tawnypelt screamed, “ENOUGH!”

Then, she swiped her claws across Sleekwhisker’s throat. Sleekwhisker’s body jerked with shock, the yellow she-cat’s pretty green eyes wide with shock and pain. The she-cat let out a few bloody, wet coughs, blood flowing out of the wound in her neck, before she fell still… her body limp, her eyes staring at nothing.

It was over now. 

For good.

Sleekwhisker was dead.

Tawnypelt quickly got off of the corpse, her body feeling numb, her heart pounding. She had to get out of here, before Raven came back. 

She turned back to the forest, mentally wondering how she would explain herself to Tigerstar. She swallowed. She would worry about that then. She began walking back, but before she left, she turned her head to the body. She was tired, too tired to feel anything except numbness towards the corpse of the cat she once hated so much. Emotionlessly, she meowed, “Thanks for destroying what was left of my family and life…” 

Then with that, she padded away, her heart feeling empty. 

She supposed the cats who had once judged her in ThunderClan were right. 

The act of murdering cats ran in her blood.

**Author's Note:**

> Tawnypelt had got it ROUGH in A Vision of Shadows. She lost like... everyone. She is not like my favorite character or anything, but I can't help but feel bad for her. 
> 
> Credit for this AU belongs to @station_pass on Twitter! Check her out. She has amazing art and her AU idea is great. Also, Pass, thank you for letting me use the idea! https://twitter.com/station_pass
> 
> As always, critique is wanted, and if you see a mistake, feel free to point it out and I will fix right away. 
> 
> Thank you and have an amazing day!


End file.
